Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio has been sued by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, over allegations that he and his attorney recklessly shared a nude image of their 2-year-old daughter online for approximately 23 hours earlier this month. The civil rights lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, seeks $150,000 in damages for the child, citing the unauthorized release of the image as part of a trove of documents Miller provided in response to domestic abuse allegations.
On August 2, Miller shared a link to a Dropbox folder containing the image during a livestream defending his reelection campaign and denying abuse claims. The folder, provided by his attorney Aaron Minc, remained accessible and downloadable from 10:00 AM on August 2 until 9:40 AM on August 3, when the error was corrected. The lawsuit states that more than 400,000 people saw or interacted with the two posts containing the folder.
Moreno’s legal team argues in the filing that Miller’s actions were both reckless and intentional, stating: “Faced with a mostly self-inflicted dumpster fire of public attention to his reputation for abusive behavior, Miller so desperately wanted to salvage his political job, that he recklessly and intentionally provided Minc a trove of documents and photos, indifferent about what they contained or how they were used.” The lawsuit further alleges that Miller misrepresented the content of the photo, claiming it did not depict their daughter’s genitalia.
Miller has publicly apologized for the release, attributing the incident to an inadvertent upload by his attorney. In a statement, Miller’s campaign acknowledged the mistake but did not address the allegations of abuse or the specifics of the photo’s content. Aaron Minc, Miller’s attorney and a named defendant in the lawsuit, has not responded to requests for comment.
The lawsuit comes amid a broader legal and political dispute between Miller and Moreno. Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), has previously accused Miller of domestic abuse, a claim Miller has vehemently denied, alleging that Moreno suffers from significant mental health problems. The civil rights lawsuit marks the latest escalation in their ongoing conflict, which has included multiple legal filings and public statements from both parties. The case raises questions about child privacy protections and the responsibilities of public figures when sharing sensitive materials online.